Ten rice flour mills to be set up this year

By L.S.A. Wedaarachchi

Ten large scale rice flour mills will be set up this year by the private sector under the guidance of Industrial Development, Agriculture and Agrarian Services Ministries.

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Industrial Development, R.V.D. Piyatileke said that the few small scale rice mills operating now are unable to meet the country's rice flour needs. Sri Lanka spends Rs. 20 billion annually to import wheat flour.

The surge in price of wheat flour in the world market has adversely affected Sri Lanka's economy, he said. "Rice flour is a substitute for wheat flour. It is more nutritious than wheat flour. It is vital to organise a systematic rice flour supply mechanism, he said.

Under the guidance of Industrial Development Minister, Kumara Welgama a four year project to produce and popularise rice flour in Sri Lanka "Sahalata Multena" has been launched. The project targets to set up 20 rice flour mills with a capacity to produce 15,000 tonnes of rice flour valued at Rs. 15 billion before 2011.

The Additional Secretary said the assistance to set up the mills will be given by the Ministry of Industrial Development. The land can be obtained from the 20 Industrial zones where infrastructure facilities had been developed.

The Institute of Post Harvest Technology and the Industrial Development Board (IDB) will assist prospective investors by providing the technical know how. The Lanka Putra Bank, People's Bank, Bank of Ceylon and Regional Development Banks have agreed to provide loans under the agriculture loan sector at low interest rates.

He said that a project to produce rice flour which is implemented by the "Mirigama SME Industrialists Society is now in operation.